Chapter Text
As soon as he heard it, Leo knew he was screwed. The weak, droning sound of the engine as his old Honda struggled to start. He turned the key in the ignition a second time, and then again, cursing as the same sound assaulted his ears. The battery was dead.
The same thing had happened two weeks ago, and he’d gotten a jump from one of his residents, Dr. Sulu, who told him to see about getting a new battery before he got stranded somewhere. He’d meant to get the car into the shop, but with all of the snow that had blanketed the Northeast in the last two weeks, along with the couple of extra shifts he’d pulled, getting the car serviced hadn’t made it onto his ‘to do’ list. Now, here he sat, in the dark, empty hospital parking lot, with the temperature below freezing and another snow storm in full swing.
“Fuck, fuck FUCK!” The doctor kicked the floorboard of the old car, and ran a hand over his face. With a sigh of resignation, he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket - at least the phone battery still showed at 15% - and searched the web for a tow service.
He hated to admit that even after six months in Boston, he still wasn’t overly familiar with much beyond his route to and from the hospital, and he hadn’t done much more than say hello to his neighbors in passing, so there was no one he felt comfortable calling for help. Finally, he chose a company that offered 24 hour service, and covered all of the metropolitan area.
The operator who answered at Enterprise Towing and Repair assured Leo that they would try to get a truck out to him as soon as possible. In other words, given the current weather conditions, and multiple accidents reported, it would be at least an hour wait. She offered to take his cell number and have her driver call or text when he showed up. Leo gave her his location and phone number, but as soon as he hung up, he decided against going back into the hospital to wait. With his luck, the moron driving the tow truck would either tow his empty car to some impound lot, or blow off the job if he didn’t see someone waiting with the vehicle.
Opening the driver’s side door, the doctor walked quickly to the trunk of his car and pulled out the extra blankets that he stored there in case of emergency. Freezing his goddamned balls off, alone in his car, definitely qualified as an emergency in his book. This never would have happened if he’d kept his happy ass in Atlanta, but of course, he wasn’t in Atlanta anymore.
As he sat shivering in the drivers seat, with the blankets doing little to keep out the cold, the dark-haired physician questioned the sanity of the his decision to move so far North. The reason was really no mystery. The chance to head up the cardiology department of one of the top hospitals in the country was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The staff at Boston General was top notch, and really very welcoming - for a bunch of Yankees. Leo had arrived in the city at the end of July, and it was amazing. He was something of a history buff, so he'd always wanted to visit Boston. Never in a million years did he ever think he’d be living here.
So how pathetic was it that after six months, he still hadn't walked the Freedom Trail, hadn't visited Paul Revere's house, hadn't even cruised Boston Harbor? Now it was the dead of winter, one of the worst on record for the city as far as snowfall, and he was going to freeze to death in his car on Valentine's weekend. It just fucking figured.
Leo had just started to drift off to sleep when the sound of tapping on his window jolted him awake. He squinted at the almost blinding headlights of a tow truck, which outlined the tall form standing outside in the blowing snow. He shook the cobwebs from his brain and opened the door, gasping as the wind cut through the thin blanket that was still wrapped around him.
“Hey man...” the tow truck driver, who was really just a kid in a Patriots stocking cap, had a concerned look on his face. “You scared me there for a second...thought maybe you were passed out or something.”
Leo ran a hand over his eyes, still feeling a little foggy. “Hypothermia ain’t set in yet kid.” He attempted to extricate himself from his cocoon of blankets, and almost fell out of the car in the process.
“Whoa...steady as she goes…” The kid put a hand on his arm to keep him from falling, and Leo focused on the phrase “Do Your Job” that was emblazoned on the kids knit cap. In the next moment, he found himself looking into the most beautiful, almost ethereal blue eyes that he’d ever seen. He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t seem to help it.
“S..sorry…” he finally stuttered. “It’s been a long night.”
“I can see that.” The kid smiled. “What’s got you stranded tonight? Battery?”
“Yeah...it happened last week too, and I didn’t have time to get it checked.” Leo sniffled in the biting cold, feeling like an idiot. He could run a cariology department, but he couldn’t take care of his own damn car.
“I’ll take a glance under the hood. Maybe I can save you the towing fee.” With another bright smile, he guided Leo away from the car. “Why don’t you wait in the truck?”
The driver opened the big door on the passenger side even as Leo shook his head no. “I’m good, I’ll just…”
“No arguing. You look like your frozen through to the bone. It’s warm in the cab, and I have some hot chocolate in my thermos if you want any.”
The kid seemed a little on the skinny side, but he easily manuevered the doctor up into the cab of his truck. Heat was coming full blast out of the vents, and it felt so good on Leo’s face that it almost hurt. The young driver watched as his passenger settled gratefully into the seat.
“Better than staying out in the cold, huh?”
Leo nodded as the kid stood on the runner outside of the truck and reached across him to grab a large Dunkin Doughnuts Thermos and a paper cup from a stash that he had behind his seat.
“Name’s Jim, by the way.” With another dazzling smile, he handed Leo a cup of cocoa.
“McCoy.” Len replied, cradling the cup in his hands. “Leonard McCoy.”
“Nice to meet you Leonard. Sorry it’s under these circumstances. I should have everything taken care of in a jiffy.”
‘In a jiffy?’ Who the hell talked like that...besides his grandmother? Leo’s thick brows knitted together in confusion as he watched the kid - Jim - check underneath the hood of his car. He seemed entirely too happy to be working in the middle of the night in near sub-zero temperatures. The doctor found himself wondering what made the kid tick, and that caught him by surprise. It had been a long time since he’d been interested in anybody, much less somebody that he hadn’t even known for five minutes. At that moment, the drivers side door opened and Jim hopped inside.
“Well, looks like I’m gonna have to tow it. Battery is totally done, so…”
“That’s what I figured.” Leo grumbled. “Thanks for given it a try though.”
“So do you want to tow it to my shop or…”
“I haven’t been in the city that long Jim. Not sure where else I would go.”
“I didn’t figure you were from around here.” Jim winked at him and Leo actually felt himself blush. “Accent gives you away.” He grabbed a clipboard and made a quick notation as Leo watched. For some reason he couldn’t stop staring.
“I’ll get the car hooked up. You’d better call your wife and tell her you’re headed home. I bet she’s holding dinner for you…”
“It’s uh...it’s just me Jim. Take your time.”
The man’s soft reply was almost wistful, and Jim felt like a giant ass. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’ll...I’ll get to work on your car.”
Leo opened his mouth to answer, but his blue-eyed rescuer was gone.